The massacre of more than 110 people, mostly Christians – including two priests and a pastor – at a Church-run displacement camp(1) highlighted the scale of the internal conflict afflicting the country. The attack in late 2018 was one of many acts of violence by ex-Séléka militia, which carried out attacks along sectarian lines. Muslim communities had also suffered, with reports of a “violent wave of ethnic cleansing”(2) in the west of the country.
» The attackers simply fired indiscriminately on the people «
Anti-balaka militia groups, formed to fight the ex-Séléka, were themselves implicated in civilian attacks. Bishop Juan José Aguirre Muñoz of Bangassou told ACN that foreign mercenaries entering CAR to raid its natural resources had further destabilised the situation.(3) A February 2019 peace deal between the government and 14 armed groups has already come under strain – with one former Séléka faction pulling out in March.(4)
